In October 2017, we published a story about the launch of the
Competition and Markets Authority's (CMA) investigation into hotel
booking sites.

Expedia, Booking.com, Agoda, Hotels.com, Ebookers
and Trivago have been investigated due to concerns
around pressure selling, misleading discount claims, the effect
that commission has on how hotels are ordered on sites and hidden
charges.

The CMA has now reported its findings and the OTAs have agreed
to make changes that include being transparent about how hotels are
graded, no longer creating false impressions to rush customers into
making a booking, and being clear about discounts to only promote
deals that are available at the time. Though not all six companies
were found to have engaged in these practices, all voluntarily
agreed to comply with the CMA's transparency requirements.

"The CMA has taken enforcement action to bring to an
end misleading sales tactics, hidden charges, and other practices
in the online hotel booking market. These have been wholly
unacceptable," said CMA chairman Andrew Tyrie. "Six websites have
already given firm undertakings not to engage in these practices.
They are some of the largest hotel booking sites.
The CMA will now do whatever it can to ensure that the
rest of the sector meets the same standards."

A spokesperson for Expedia said in a statement: "We have a
two-decades' old commitment to putting travel data and details in
the hands of consumers, knocking down barriers to searching,
planning, and booking, all with the best interests of consumers in
mind - to make travel easier, more attainable, more accessible and
more enjoyable. This mission is core to what we do on our Expedia,
Hotels.com, and ebookers sites here in the UK. That's why over the
past few months we have invested significant time and energy into
working closely with the CMA to create a helpful industry standard
for all UK booking sites offering accommodation search and booking
services."

"We gave commitments to the CMA on a voluntary basis, and the
CMA, in turn, closed its investigation in respect of the Expedia
Group with no admission or finding of liability. We continue
to believe our practices did not breach any consumer laws. That
said, we are surprised and disappointed in the CMA's description of
our partnership with them in the CMA's press announcement, which we
believe mischaracterizes the collaborative and good faith approach
taken in establishing industry standards which are new and result
in more transparency for consumers than in offline markets. We
are, however, pleased the CMA has been clear that it views this new
standard as one applicable to all participants in the industry,
whether online travel agents, search engines and metasearch sites
or the direct sites of accommodation providers."

Reacting to the news, Kristian Valk, Hotelchamp CEO, said: "It
cannot be overstated how important this news is for hoteliers.
Regardless of how voluntary these changes are, and the technical
legality that has been their catalyst, it is a clear indication
that hoteliers, and ultimately their guests, have been exploited.
Illegal or not, these OTA practices have certainly not been fair.
Since the CMA began their investigation, we have seen hotels
embrace the concept of personalisation to try to fairly represent
their property and offering to each and every potential guest. We
are excited to see how this transparent and more level playing
field further enables hoteliers to thrive in the online booking
space, instead of being ransomed by OTAs just to survive. Hotels
are now truly free to offer what is best for their guest - not the
middle man."

Matt West, CEO, Feefo, added: "This is a really positive move by
many of these booking websites who have agreed to follow a new code
and be more transparent about their sales practices, with their
valued customers. Last year GDPR put the power back in the hands of
the consumer making them more aware of who has access to their data
and how they use it. In the wake of this, consumer trust and brand
loyalty has never been more important. Customer experience
should be at the forefront of every successful business today.
Brands that fail to deepen their understanding and relations with
customers risk losing them."

The companies have until September 1, 2019 to comply. Those who
fail to comply with the demands could be taken to court.